Program Specialist
Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration
Summary This position is organizationally aligned to Quality Management at the VA Illiana Health Care System (VAIHCS), Danville, IL- a Level 3 complexity facility. The primary purpose of this position is to assist the High Reliability Lead and Systems Redesign Health System Specialist (HSS) with program specific policies and activities at VAIHCS. Responsibilities Major Duties: – Assisting with development, maintenance and operations – strategic planning process and implementation of the plan to improve the Employee and Veteran experience – applying policy and directives to changing situations – responsible for the tracking and monitoring of unit training completion – incumbent collects safety stories, project successes/failures, and shares lessons learned with the facility, VISN, and National Office – data collection and analysis – responsible for maintaining clear communication and a positive relationship with other departments and agencies – assist with organizing and planning the monthly safety forums – initiates, revises, and translates policies, theories, and strategies into action resulting – provides education to staff on Just-Do-It and Plan-Do-Study-Acts. Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met. Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level. Work Schedule: Monday – Friday; 7:30am – 4:00pm Telework: Ad-Hoc; upon supervisory approval Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Program Specialist/PD242600 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Approved Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Requirements Conditions of Employment You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959 You may be required to serve a probationary period Subject to background/security investigation Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP) Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) – See “Additional Information” below for details. Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 10/15/2024. Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-07 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-05. For a GS-9 position your must have served 52 weeks at the GS-7. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade. Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: GS-7 Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-05 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: knowledge in the planning, organizing, developing, managing, and evaluating the medical centers High Reliability Organization Program, knowledge in applying policy and directives to changing situations or to develop strategies, data collection and analysis, maintains records and data of unit training completion and reports the data, Coordinates, consults, and educates staff. OR, GS- 7 Education: Must have successfully completed 1 full year of graduate level education. Such education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work and be directly related to the duties of this position. OR, Must have completed a 4-year course of study leading to a bachelors degree and have Superior Academic Achievement (S.A.A). S.A.A. must have been gained in a curriculum that is qualifying for the position to be filled and demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work and be directly related to the duties of this position. TRANSCRIPTS REQUIREDS.A.A. is based on (1) class standing, (2) grade-point average, or (3) honor society membership. 1. Class standing — Applicants must be in the upper third of the graduating class in the college, university, or major subdivision, such as the College of Liberal Arts or the School of Business Administration, based on completed courses. 2. Grade-point average (G.P.A.)– Applicants must have a grade-point average of: a. 3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 (“B” or better) as recorded on their official transcript, or as computed based on 4 years of education, or as computed based on courses completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum; b. 3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0 (“B” or better) based on the average of the required courses completed in the major field or the required courses in the major field completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum. 3. Election to membership in a national scholastic honor society GS-7 Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at the GS-7 level. To calculate, first identify the percentage of required education you have earned (when substituting, you cannot use the first 60 semester hours that you earned). Then identify the percentage of required experience you possess. Add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify at the GS-7. For example, an applicant who has 9 semester hours of graduate level education (i.e. 50% of graduate education required) and 6 months of creditable specialized experience (i.e. 50% of the required experience) would equal 100% of the required experience for the position. TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED GS-9 Level Specialized Experience: Must possess 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade (GS-7) in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization that equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is in or related to the work of the position to be filled. Specialized experience includes: assists in the planning, organizing, developing, managing, and evaluating the medical centers High Reliability Organization Program, applying policy and directives to changing situations or to develop strategies, data collection and analysis, maintains records and data of unit training completion and reports the data, Coordinates, consults, and educates staff. OR GS-9 Education: Successfully completed a Masters or equivalent graduate degree or 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.B. or J.D., if related. Such education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work and be directly related to the duties of this position. TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED OR GS-9 Combination: Must possess a combination of graduate education and specialized experience as described above. TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Analytical Reasoning Communication Manages and Organizes Information Organizational Performance Analysis Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment. Physical Requirements: Field work is required within the facility, as well as the Community Based Outpatient Clinics. Some travel is required. Position requires walking, standing, stooping, sitting and minimal lifting. No other special physical demands are required of this work. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Managements website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/. Education A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education. Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/. Additional Information Receiving Service Credit or Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. Pursuant to VHA Directive 1193.01, VHA health care personnel (HCP) are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 subject to such accommodations as required by law (i.e., medical, religious or pregnancy). VHA HCPs do not include remote workers who only infrequently enter VHA locations. If selected, you will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and submit documentation of proof of vaccination before your start date. The agency will provide additional information regarding what information or documentation will be needed and how you can request a legally required accommodation from this requirement using the reasonable accommodation process. If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement. Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicants criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.